Buckaroo Bulk Nugget Tek (invitro, spawn bags and/or ½ gallon jars)

[BuckarooBanzai]

Introducing the Buckaroo Bulk Nugget...

[EDIT] this was once an informational post, now it is just a place keeper...

[BuckarooBanzai]

Abstract: Popcorn and a coir/castings/poly bulk substrate are prepared and layered in a filter patch spawn bag or ½ gallon canning jar. The popcorn is inoculated with liquid culture and then incubated until run. The fully run popcorn is broken up and spawned into the bulk substrate without opening the bag/jar. The spawned bulk substrate is again incubated until run. The resulting “bulk nugget” is then fruited invitro (or birthed, cased and placed in fruiting conditions). The nugget is then harvested, dunked and returned to fruiting conditions to flush again. Invitro fruiting is the focus of this Tek.

Liner notes/thank yous: I would like to thank all the intrepid contributors to Mycotopia over the years – it is their published knowledge which I have absorbed, modified and regurgitated for this Tek. I would like to thank Hippie3 for maintaining this board and its overall demeanor. Mycotopia is a very special place, it is fertile ground for work like this. I would like to thank my wife and editor, without whom I would be very lonely and plagued with run on sentences. I would like to thank you, the grower, for seeking this information and bringing the Psillys into your life. Real, lasting change occurs one person at a time – the journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step. I would like to thank Sporeworks.com for their pre-sealable filter patch spawn bags and killer customer service. I would like to thank Professor Fanaticus. The importance of his early work cannot be overstated and I think it is very important to remember where we came from.

Preface: This Tek is not written with newbies in mind. Please reread that sentence. This Tek assumes that you have already mastered liquid culture and built/tested an incubator. This Tek assumes you have already built/tested a dehydrator. This Tek assumes that you have successfully fruited out at least a few cakes. This is absolutely NOT intended to be a complete Tek (the complete Tek is coming…slowly).

So, without further adieu, may I please introduce: Buckaroo Bulk Nuggets (BBNs for you chronic “acronymer” types)…

A bulk substrate contains a lot of food and a lot of water which mycelia can use for mushroom production. Also, a colonized bulk substrate is highly resistant to contamination. Fruiting bulk substrates (with or without casings) can be a highly productive endeavor but you can’t directly inoculate bulk substrates. You have to spawn bulk subs (in “open” air) with crumbled cakes or colonized grain. Also, because of the open air thing, you need to Pasteurize (instead of sterilize) bulk substrates. Although working with bulk subs can be more productive, working with bulk subs can be intimidating and frustrating (especially at first).

Cakes are great because the substrate remains in a sterilized/filtered environment until it is fully colonized. The fully colonized cake is highly resistant to contamination when it is finally birthed and fruited in “dirty” air.

BB nugs are an attempt to consolidate into one Tek some very desirable characteristics of cake growing and bulk substrate growing. BB nuggets colonize completely in a sterilized container (like a cake) but include poo and a water reservoir (like a bulk substrate). The attempt here is to create a “best of both worlds” Tek. A “natural progression” bridge between cakes and bulk subs, if you will.

BB nugs could very easily be thought of as “bulk cakes.” Larger and square(ish) cakes…but cakes none the less.

How are BB nugs like cakes? You can fruit them invitro…like cakes (invitro fruiting is the focus of this Tek). You can DE case them for better results…like cakes. After a flush, you can dunk them…like cakes. They are highly resistant to contamination…like cakes.

BB nugs are a “safer” way of exploring/exploiting bulk substrates than the commonly used “crumble and spawn” Teks. A BB nugget project is less likely to contaminate than a “crumble and spawn” project. Why?

BB nugs are less likely to contaminate for one simple reason: the bulk sub/ grain spawn is never exposed to unfiltered air until after 100% colonization is achieved. The whole process (grain inoculation, incubation and spawning) happens in the same pre sterilized container. The chances of evil invading microbes contaminating (and ruining) your project are severely curtailed as compared to “crumble and spawn in open air" projects.

By focusing on invitro, this Tek is in no way trying to imply that casing and fruiting a BB nug in a proper terrarium does not have good results. A cased BB nug does quite nicely in a terrarium…pics are in the Afterwards.

In an attempt at modularity, this Tek is broken down into the following sections (each is a different post):

• Hydrate popcorn
• Prepare bulk substrate
• Layer substrate/popcorn, seal and Pressure Cooker (PC)
• Inoculate bag/jar with Liquid Culture (LC)
• Incubate until popcorn layer is colonized
• Spawn and incubate until colonized
• Introduce light and fresh air
• Harvest
• Dunk and wait for the next flush
• Return to step 7 and repeat until contamination (or lack of space) becomes a problem
• Afterwards…

[BuckarooBanzai]

Hydrate popcorn

The point of this step is to get as much water as possible into the popcorn without the kernels bursting.

Required supplies:
1. Popcorn
2. Double boiler
3. Stove
4. EarthJuice tea
5. Tap water

A lot of burst popcorn kernels is bad. Too many burst kernels make for sticky popcorn. Sticky popcorn is difficult to work with (it needs to be rinsed thoroughly) and is more likely to cause problems later. The goal is to have less than 1% burst kernels after full hydration.

Begin by soaking your popcorn in plain tap water for 24 hours. It will not absorb much water, but all the contaminants on the kernels will germinate. The PC run can kill germinated contaminants much easier than un-germinated contaminants. The 24 hour pre-soak isn’t a requirement, but it is a good idea.

Popcorn will need to be slowly simmered over low heat in order to hydrate without bursting. Simmering over high heat will cause excessive bursting. A double boiler works extremely well for cooking popcorn, though simply using the lowest heat setting on your stove will work.

Double boiler (stainless pot, mixing bowl and lid):
popcorn - double boiler 1.jpg

You can simmer popcorn in plain tap water, but EarthJuice tea works better.

Submerge the popcorn under about 1.5 inches of water/tea (the popcorn will swell, cover it deep) and cook it in the double boiler for 2.5 hours. Stir it every 20 minutes or so while cooking.

If you simmer directly on the stove top, it will only take about an hour and a half.

Check the popcorn every time you stir it. Once the popcorn is swollen and soft enough to cut in half with a fingernail, it is ready.

If you end up with a lot of burst kernels, rinse the popcorn quite thoroughly with hot water.

Using a colander, drain the popcorn. If you use EarthJuice, don’t pour it down the drain. Reserve it for re-use in the next step to hydrate the bulk substrate.

Using a big spoon, stir the hot popcorn in the colander until it stops steaming (about 8-10 minutes). All the excess water will drain and/or evaporate, leaving the popcorn perfect for the next step.

Popcorn hydration is not critical with this Tek. Because the popcorn will be layered on top of bulk substrate, any excess moisture won’t pool up and become a problem. Don’t worry about getting the popcorn super dry.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Prepare Bulk Substrate

The point of this step is to optimally hydrate the bulk substrate, in preparation for mycelia growth.

Required Supplies:

1. Coconut coir
2. Worm castings
3. EarthJuice Tea
4. Polyacrylamide or vermiculite
5. Large bowls
6. Large spoon
7. Glass measuring cup
8. Syringe for precision water measurement
9. Large knife
10. Digital scale


Polyacrylamide is optional. There are some potential health risks with using it. You can ignore the poly entirely and replace it with an equal volume of vermiculite, if you have problems with poly. Caveat emptor!

This recipe shouldn’t be considered exact. You may not be able to get the same brand of castings and coir mentioned. Even if you do get the same brands, water levels in different products can vary a lot. The instructions to determine appropriate hydration can be applied to any brands.

The substrate recipe is roughly 40/40/20 coir/castings/poly (if not using poly, use 40/40/20 of coir/castings/vermiculite).

You can hydrate everything with water or EarthJuice tea. EarthJuice works better.

You should test your coir and castings carefully to determine how to hydrate them properly before wasting any EarthJuice tea. Coir/castings that are too wet will wreck your project so determining the ratio of dry ingredients to tea is pretty important.

To test the coir, take 2mg dry and very finely shredded coir and slowly add very hot water (use a 10mL syringe and add by drop) until hydration is appropriate. Hydration is “right” when tightly squeezing the 2mg of coir in your fist produces 1-2 drops of water. Drier is better than too moist. General Hydroponics coir usually wants around 3.5mL water per 1gm of dry coir. When you determine how much water to add to the coir, write it down immediately. FOAF likes to keep the unused coir brick in a gallon Ziploc and write the hydration formula on it with a Sharpie.

Using the same process, test 10mg of worm castings. Use very hot water and add by drops. Stir the castings continuously while adding water. Let castings rest for 30 seconds after you finish stirring before judging hydration. When the 10mg of castings squeezed hard drips 2-3 drops of water, hydration is just right. Wiggle Worm castings usually want around .3mL water per 1gm of dry castings. Again, drier is far better than too moist. When you determine how much water to add to the castings, write it down immediately.

Use basic math to determine how much coir, castings, poly/verm and EJ tea you need to make the desired mixture (40/40/20). Realize that volume is irrelevant and water (tea) is very heavy. Add the weight of the dry ingredients AND the tea that hydrates them. Check your math and add it up one more time. These percentages are very important.

Coir will come in a virtually impenetrable block. Use a large knife and peel off thin flakes by stabbing into the block’s edge and then slowly bending the knife blade away from the block. Be CAREFUL when working with a large knife and a coir block. It is very easy to slip and stab/cut yourself quite badly.

FLAKING COIR.jpg
Coir block stabbed in the side with a knife.

Put the flakes of coir in a glass measuring cup or small bowl. Shredding the coir into corn flake size pieces will make hydrating it easier. Measure the amount of EJ you need, heat it up in the microwave (steaming hot) and then pour it slowly over the coir. Pour SLOWLY and distribute the EJ over the top of the coir evenly. The coir will swell and darken. After about 1 minute, scrape the coir out into a bigger container with a fork and cover it to prevent evaporation. Let the coir sit and expand/hydrate for 15 minutes before continuing.

DRY COIR.JPG
Dry coir in a measuring cup.

MOIST COIR.JPG
The same volume of coir after hydration.

After a few minutes, when the coir is cool enough to touch, run your hands through it. Break up any chunks and bits you find into fine powder. This will take a few minutes. Run your hands through the coir and carefully powder it all (meditate and say a little prayer, if the mood strikes you). You may want to add a little more tea at this point. Hydration is perfect when a big fistful squeezed tightly results in 4-5 drops of water. The coir should NOT drip when you pick up a fistful until after you squeeze (tightly). If you get the coir too moist, add a little dry. Mix very thoroughly after adding anything. Too dry is better than too moist.

FISTFUL BEFORE SQUEEZING.JPG
Fistful before squeezing.

FISTFUL AFTER SQUEEZING.JPG
Fistfull after squeezing.

Taking a picture of dripping water is beyond my abilities. Note how dry the first fistful of coir looks. Note that in the second picture (after squeezing), some moisture has pooled around my FOAF’s pinky finger and evidence of a drip is visible on the bottom edge of my FOAF’s hand. This is properly hydrated coir.

That is “field capacity hydration.” A fistful squeezed very tightly will produce about 4-5 drops of water. You have to squeeze it TIGHT to produce any water. The fistful doesn’t drip freely without squeezing. If your fistful produces more than 7 drops, add some dry. Again, a little too dry is much better than too moist. You can always dunk to add moisture before fruiting.

A wet substrate will colonize very slowly and will most likely contaminate.

As always, a little dry is better than too moist.

The worm castings must be hydrated slowly with a lot of stirring or they will tend to turn to mud. Earthworm mud is bad and will ruin your project. Properly hydrated worm castings are quite fluffy. Moistened castings have a lovely smell of fresh loam.

To hydrate worm castings, heat the requisite amount of EJ tea in a microwave and then add it SLOWLY in 80-100mL increments to the castings. Using a large syringe to drip the EJ all over the surface of the castings is a great idea. Stir for at least a minute between each addition of EJ. Stir from the bottom and really mix things up. Break up any chunks you encounter. If you don’t stir the castings very thoroughly and add the EJ slowly (in small amounts), you will have disappointing results. If you over hydrate the castings, you can add dry (with lots of stirring) until you get it right. Too dry is better than too moist.

DRY CASTINGS.JPG
Dry worm castings.

MOIST CASTINGS.JPG
Properly hydrated worm castings.

Take 500mL of EJ and heat it up to steaming in the microwave. Add 1/8 cup of polyacrylamide crystals and stir carefully until the crystals are fully hydrated and no more free water is present. This will take 5-9 minutes. If you don’t stir continuously, the crystals will not absorb the “dirty” EarthJuice completely. Make up smaller (or larger) poly/EJ recipes as needed. This recipe produces about two cups of hydrated poly.

EJ HYDRATED POLY.JPG
Polyacrylamide crystals hydrated with EJ.

Put the castings, coir and hydrated poly in a big bowl and stir very thoroughly until things are uniformly mixed. There should be no dry pockets or lumps. Use a large enough bowl that you can stir well without slopping material over the sides. Once properly hydrated and mixed, this stuff is called bulk substrate.

BULK SUBSTRATE.JPG
Bulk substrate (coir/castings/poly)

[BuckarooBanzai]

Layer popcorn/substrate, seal and PC

This point of this step is to add the popcorn and bulk substrate to the container, seal it up and sterilize it in the Pressure Cooker (PC).

Required Supplies:

1. Hydrated popcorn
2. Hydrated bulk substrate
3. Pre-sealable filter patch spawn bags or ½ gallon jars
4. Impulse sealer (if using spawn bags)
5. Large glass/measuring cup
6. Filtered lids with silicone injection ports (if using jars)
7. A pressure cooker capable of maintaining 15psi

By volume, you want 1 part popcorn to 3 parts bulk substrate. You can use less popcorn, but the nugget will colonize more slowly.

Using a measuring cup or big glass, add the requisite amount bulk substrate to the bag/jar. After putting the bulk substrate in the container, gently tamp it down. Don’t pack it tightly; just get the surface uniform and remove any air pockets.

Using a measuring cup or big glass, pour the hydrated popcorn over the top of the bulk substrate.

The popcorn MUST be below the level of the filter patch. Popcorn touching the filter patch is very bad and can lead to contamination.

DO NOT MIX THE POPCORN AND BULK SUBSTRATE. You want two very distinct levels of strata: popcorn on top and bulk sub on the bottom.

corn - bulk layered in container.jpg
Substrate containers (bags and a ½ gallon jar)

Triple seal the pre-sealable spawn bags with the impulse sealer. Leave some air in the bags. If using jars, screw on a filtered lid with at least one silicone injection port. Either Tyvek or polyfill will work for the filters. A bag/jar needs some air exchange to be successful.

After the containers are prepared and sealed up, PC them for at least 60 minutes @ 15 psi. Ninety minutes is safer, especially if you are cooking 3 or 4 big bags.

Let the containers cool overnight in the PC.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Inoculate bag/jar with Liquid Culture (LC)

The point of this step is to get the liquid culture onto the popcorn without introducing contaminants.

Required supplies:

• Rubber gloves
• Face mask
• Glove box or flow hood (optional)
• Electrical tape
• Duct tape
• Sterilized bags/jars
• Isopropyl alcohol
• A Sharpie
• Mini blowtorch lighter (for flaming syringe)
• Liquid culture
• 10mL or 60mL syringe and needle

Wear gloves and a mask during this process, and observe your best sterile procedures. Inoculation is the time when contaminants are most likely to find their way in and ruin your project. If you can do inoculations in a glove box or in front of a flow hood, you should do so.

If using spawn bags, you need to choose an injection site at least four inches above the popcorn layer. Pick a spot on the bag which is opposite the side with the filter patch.

Before gloving up, tear off a strip of duct tape and a strip of electrical tape for each bag to seal the injection sites. These strips should be 3-5 inches long.

Before injecting, wipe the inoculation site down with alcohol and then let it dry. If you leave the area wet with alcohol, the tape won’t stick to the bag properly.

Uncap the LC syringe and flame the needle. Dribble a little LC out of the syringe until the needle sizzles and cools down. Don’t inject using a red hot needle, it will melt the bag and make a very large/ungainly hole.

Insert the needle into the bag and squirt in the liquid culture. Try to dribble it down the sides of the bag and also spray it across the top of the popcorn. Be gentle – you do not want to tear the bag.

Do not get any liquid culture on the filter patch. A wet filter patch can let contaminants through.

Add a lot of liquid culture. The more you add, the faster your project will grow. A medium spawn bag should get at least 35mL-60mL. A half gallon jar should get at least 25mL-50mL. This is where 60mL syringes come in very handy.

As soon as you finish inoculating, remove the needle from the bag, cap the syringe and lay it down. Immediately put a piece of electrical tape over the inoculation hole. Press/smooth the tape down firmly. Put a piece of duct tape over the electrical tape and again press/smooth firmly. If you are paranoid, a second piece of duct tape (perpendicular to the first) won’t hurt a bit.

If using jars, the process is basically the same, only without the tape. Flame/cool the needle and dribble/squirt LC down the sides of the jar and across the top of the popcorn. Again, use plenty of LC.

Write the inoculation date and strain on the bag/jar. The duct tape on the bag is excellent for writing on with a Sharpie.

DO NOT SHAKE THE CONTAINERS. The corn and substrate should remain as two discrete layers.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Incubate until popcorn layer is colonized

The purpose of this step is to incubate the bag/jar at an optimum temperature until the popcorn layer is fully run (colonized).

Required supplies:

1. Inoculated nuggets
2. Incubator


bag and jar at 10 days.jpg
A bag and a ½ gallon jar, 80% colonized.

bags almost done.jpg
Two bags, 90% colonized.

bag almost done closeup.jpg
Close-up of a very nearly colonized bag (aggressive mycelia has already started invading the bulk substrate).

finished half gallon.jpg
A ½ gallon jar with a fully colonized popcorn layer

[BuckarooBanzai]

Spawn and incubate until colonized

The purpose of this step is to mix the popcorn and bulk sub and incubate them until colonized. The process of mixing the popcorn and bulk sub is called spawning the bulk substrate. The process of colonizing the bulk sub is referred to as the mycelia running the bulk substrate.

Required supplies:

1. Bags/jars with fully a colonized popcorn layer
2. Incubator


If using spawn bags, knead the bag thoroughly until the popcorn and bulk sub are well-mixed. After mixing, gently tamp the bag down to remove air pockets. Do not pack the substrate tightly.

If using jars, bang them against the heel of your hand until the popcorn layer breaks up and then shake the crap out of them until the popcorn/sub mix nicely. After mixing, gently tamp down the jar to remove air pockets. Do not pack the substrate tightly.

After mixing the bag/jar, return it to the incubator.

Please be aware that kneading/shaking will make all the pretty mycelia disappear. This is not a problem and is totally to be expected. The bag/jar WILL recover!

bulk jar before shaking.jpg
Bulk jar before shaking

bulk jar after shaking.jpg
Bulk jar after shaking.

bulk jar @ 48 hours.jpg
The same jar, 48 hours later.

Before opening the bag/jar, it is an extremely good idea to wait an additional 3 days (after 100% colonization) to let the mycelia penetrate the substrate fully and become even stronger and more resistant to contamination.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Introduce light and fresh air

The point of this step is to induce the fully colonized bulk nugget to produce fruit.

Required supplies:

• Light source (indirect sunlight works)
• Timer if light source is artificial
• Box to hold container and light source if stealth is an issue
• Hair dryer
• Duct tape (if using bags)
• Atomizer for misting

To stimulate fruiting, you need three things: light, fresh air and high humidity.

If you need stealth, put the bag/jar in a box in your closet and give it light with a small fluorescent fixture on a timer. If stealth isn’t a major concern, indirect sunlight is perfect. You can leave a bag/jar out in any room the sun touches and get good results.

Don’t sit the bag/jar on the window sill in direct sunlight, though. The bag/jar will get overheated in direct sunlight. A few hours of indirect sunlight per day is damn near perfect.

Fresh air exchange is easiest to accomplish with a hair dryer set on cool. Just open the bag/jar and blow in some fresh air once a day. Twice or three times per day is better, but be careful to avoid drying the nugget. Cut fresh air to once per day after pins show.

High humidity will be maintained by the bag/jar itself. Bags should remain duct taped shut except while you are doing air exchange. Jars should have their lids in place unless you are doing air exchange. Good humidity levels will be indicated by condensation inside the bag/jar. Do not worry about the air getting stale if you miss a day. The filter in the bag/jar will keep things from getting nasty.

If the walls of the bag/jar are dry, you can mist them (very lightly) when doing air exchanges. Misting excessively is a good way to get contaminants and cause pins to abort. Don’t mist at all after pins show.

Misting probably won’t be required and a bunch of pooled water on the bottom of the bag/jar is VERY bad.

As always, a little too dry is much better than a little too moist.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Harvest

The point of this section is explained by its name!!!

Required supplies:

1. Rubber gloves
2. Face mask
3. Glove box or flow hood (optional)
4. Tweezers (to harvest tiny aborts)
5. Long knife (if afflicted with Yeti hands)
6. A dehydrating apparatus

When you harvest your mushrooms, wear gloves and a mask. Do it in front of the flow hood or in a glove box, if possible. Always work as cleanly as possible when the nugget is exposed. A contaminated nugget will not produce another nice flush.

You need to remove all mushroom material when harvesting. Don’t be afraid to take a little divot of substrate if one is holding on tenaciously. Better to remove some mycelia/substrate than leave mature tissue.

After harvesting all the large mushrooms, check the nugget carefully and remove all the babies and aborts. Aborts and baby pins are the most potent mushrooms – collect them all, even the tiny ones. REPEAT: aborts and babies are the most potent mushrooms (and they are best eaten fresh).

When harvesting a spawn bag, just pull the bulk nugget out and go to work. Wear gloves/mask and work in a glove box or in front of a hood, if possible. When harvesting a bulk jar, reach in and do the same thing with hands (or a long knife if your Yeti sized hand won’t fit through a wide mouth jar’s opening).

You do not want any mature mushroom tissue to remain on the nugget. Mature tissue will tend to blacken/rot and invite contamination after the upcoming dunk.

invitro flush angle 1.jpg
Spawn bag bulk nugget, fruited invitro (bag removed).


invitro flush angle 2.jpg
Same nugget, top view


invitro harvest.jpg
Same nugget, “regular cap” harvest

invitro abort harvest.jpg
Same nugget, abort harvest

1.5 gallon bulk jar.jpg
Mature 1.5 gallon bulk nug jar (lid removed to allow better fruiting).

1.5 gallon bulk jar harvest.jpg
1.5 gallon bulk jar harvest (nice caps removed for printing)

Please note: the jar above was finished in a terrarium, not invitro. That is why the caps are protruding so far above the top of the jar.

Below you can see how huge the pins were in the jar. When you see that, you might understand why the lid was removed and it was finished (open) in a terrarium!

1.5 gallon jar 12 hours after lid removal.jpg
1.5 gallon bulk nug jar, 12 hours after lid removal

1.5 gallon jar 12 hours after lid removal 2.jpg
Same 1.5 gallon bulk nug jar, 12 hours after lid removal (top view)

Immediately after harvest, you should begin drying the mushrooms via your preferred method.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Dunk and wait for the next flush

The point of this section is to add water back to the nugget so the mycelia can hydrate and be physically ready to maximize production of another flush.

Required supplies:

• Rubber gloves
• Face mask
• Gallon Ziploc bags (freezer grade is preferable)
• Refrigerator
• Just harvested bulk nugget

Most nuggets will flush at least twice. Five times isn’t impossible unless the nugget contaminates. If you can keep a nugget moist and free of contamination, it will still produce the occasional mushroom 2 or 3 months later. The largest mushrooms will be produced in later flushes. 5th/6th flushes will frequently be composed of just two or three huge fruits.

Still wearing gloves and mask, the just harvested nugget is placed in new/clean gallon Ziploc bag. Enough cold water is added to the bag to completely submerge the nugget. All the air is squeezed out of the bag and it is sealed and placed in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

This is easier said than done as the nugget will float. Work in the sink (water spillage is likely) and hold the nugget under water with one hand while removing air and sealing the bag with the other. Don’t stress it; this is a learned skill.

Once the Ziploc is tightly sealed, leave the nugget to “dunk” for 24 hours in the refrigerator. Do not freeze the nugget. Do not dunk for more than 48 hours. Do not dunk with bleach/peroxide water unless you are fighting contaminants.

After the dunk is over, pour all the water out of the bag. Wearing gloves and using clean paper towels, dab the majority of the water off the nugget. Transfer the semi dry nugget back to the spawn bag. Remember, pooling water in the bag is bad. Seal the bag with duct tape and begin the light/air exchange process of step 7 again.

Don’t try to remove a bulk nugget from a ½ gallon jar – it won’t work. Dunk jar nuggets by filling the jar with water. Drain them by sitting them on an angle for 15 minutes or so. It is important to drain jar nuggets well after the dunk. Don’t leave water pooling around the bottom or you will invite contamination.

Any nugget that doesn’t produce pins for more than 10 days should be disposed of. Any nugget that becomes discolored or produces an odd smell should be disposed of. Check nuggets for contamination daily when doing fresh air exchange.

Dispose of contaminated nuggets immediately.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Afterwards…

You do not have to fruit Buckaroo Bulk Nuggets invitro. Casing BB nuggets and putting them in a tub/terrarium works quite nicely!

Bulk nug fruiting.jpg
Bulk nugget, coir casing.

bulk nug fruiting 2.jpg
Same nugget, different angle (lighter for scale).

bulk nug 2 fruiting first.jpg
Bulk nugget (casing is verm on one side and coir on the other).

bulk nug 2 fruiting.jpg
Same nugget, second flush.


Conclusions:

1. Poly works better than verm.
2. EarthJuice works better than water.
3. Twenty four hour popcorn presoak is a good idea.
4. Pre-sealable spawn bags are a worthwhile investment.
5. 60mL syringes make inoculating bigger bags much easier.
6. Plain coir is a better casing material than plan verm.
7. Invitro spawn bags/canning jars can work really well.

[BuckarooBanzai]

*** POST COMPLETE ***

Thanks for your patience.

[siam_jim]

real nice write up there buckarooB!!! i need to try this new tek... thanks so much for sharing your skill and passion..
peace
siam

[BuckarooBanzai]

siam jim, I know English isn't your "primary" language. I would very much like to have your input on any sections/paragraphs/sentences that are difficult to grasp. If you find any annoying fifty cent words, I would like to know that as well.

Writing to the broadest audience possible is very much an intent with this Tek. Something very new for me, writing to broad audiences. I appreciate any/all input on my technique.

[siam_jim]

wow the myc just rips, buckaroo i like the simplicity and ways you explain things step by step with the pictorials. which has inspire me to give this a try. your tek reflects passion and love for this hobby. so my hat off to your sir. (how's my english now???) hehe

peace
siam

[BuckarooBanzai]

No offense intended, dude, your English is excellent.

I hope this Tek will be read by people with much worse English skills than you. My only intent was to ask you to help me make it easier for them (English as a second language folks) to read.

No slight to you, man, your English is excellent!

Thanks for the props, by the way. I AM passionate about mycology.

[golly]

Nicely done buck....great method for those small secret spaces....

[siam_jim]

LOL...no prob, actually my english is above average for this region, i understand the slangs well.

i think some may have problems with the statement "shake the crap out of them" i'ld like to see their faces when they are trying to figure this one out. lol

peace
siam

[BuckarooBanzai]

Sentence changed...

My editor didn't like that, either. She reminded me that although the phrase was cute, there was actually crap (worm crap) in the jar.

Thanks for the suggestion!

[tepin]

Love the tek buckaroo and loads of great photos!!!

sure to try this one

[encapsulated]

No way in hell am i gonna read that tonight WAY TOO LONG but I skimmed it and it does look very nicely done BB and i might have to read it tomorrow even though i dont doo corn or poo it still looks like a good informative read that i should read while i know where it is to gain some knowledge for the future!!!!!!! but like i said it does look very well put together

[cap]

exceptional work
cant wait to try it out!

[Hippie3]

very well presented

Very nicely done BB!!!!!! I love the detail, and great explanation and pics! Very helpful!

[the_chosen_one]

Jeeze Bucky! And here I am telling the guy to master the PF Tek
Nicely done!

[BuckarooBanzai]

Thanks for the props, everybody. I hope somebody can put the Tek to good use.

I think more folks would have fun working with grain and bulk substrates if they could do it in a safer, more controlled way. This is the safest way I could come up with.

And who doesn't love invitro? So freakin' simple.

TCO - no problems dude! Anybody who can do what you can do can give me any advice he wants!

[cap]

righteous
thx again for sharin yer way of doin things
you always go above and beyond, Buck
take care

[prismaticEffects]

buckaroo...
you have inspired me.
you did exactly what you set out to do-
this tek is SOO informative, but SOO easy to read/follow.
you have truely inspired me. EXCELLENT WORK.

Very nice, buckaroo! Damn man, you been busy!

[BuckarooBanzai]

Idle hands are the Devil's workshop! This is a MAGNIFICENT hobby for smart people with ADD. FOAF can bounce from project to project every ten minutes, tweaking different variables with each one. Always something new to see...to think about doing...

The best thing is how fast experiments progress. When you can have fruit 30 days after inoculation, you can get a lot of projects done in a year!!!

Actually, that is another way it is good for the ADD crowd. Different things to focus on regularly, but you still have to have some patience (but not that much!).

[SIMBIOSIS]

One of the most detailed tecks i read here ,step by step ,pic by pic
This thek is new to me
Thx for sharing, and for the effort.

[Killjoy]

Props, and More props!... Looks like it will make transitioning from Jars to bags much simpler...

Any suggestions on where to get the Poly Crystals cheap.?
Any idea how they compare to verm in water holding capacity?
Do the bulk cakes shrink more as the shrooms suck the moisture from the Poly?
and one last question... 40/40/20 by Weight, Dry Volume or Wet volume?

Thanks for the great write up!

[stonesofthegodz]

awesome thread. one question. what is the reason for keeping the corn and poomix seperated when injecting the LC. im sure you know why, i just didnt figure out why you didnt mix and allow it all to colonize at one time. instead of allowing to colonize the corn, then a lil of the poo, then mixing and recolonization.

sorry if im noobish. i really want to learn.

[Soliver1]

WOW - great work BB!

thanks for the great writeup!

[Pedestrian]

Hats off to you buckaroo. This is one hell of a write up you've done. Im buying you a brew.

Thanks again.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Killjoy: much appreciated! Hope it helps. If it does, please share some pics!

Good poly source (hydro stores over charge):
http://stores.ebay.com/Water-Crystals-Ranch

Poly holds a lot more water than verm, but poly works better if you don’t hydrate it completely. Overly wet poly is as bad (or worse) than overly wet verm.

Bulk nuggets shrink a good bit during fruiting. They swell a little when you dunk, but never return to the original size (after the 3rd invitro flush, they are much smaller than the spawn bag).

40/40/20 by weight; be sure to add the weight of the water and dry ingredients.

Stonesofthegodz: No newbie stone throwing around here. This place is about helping people learn, not making fun of people trying to learn.

The only dumb question is the one you don’t ask.

The poo/popcorn are separated because the LC colonizes popcorn MUCH better than bulk sub. Dig on this picture: http://forums.mycotopia.net/attachme...8&d=1150049449.

Notice how much thicker the myc is on the popcorn layer (on top) than it is in the poo layer (on the bottom)? LC grows much quicker (and much thicker) on grain than bulk sub.

So, you use the LC to inoculate the popcorn. Once fully colonized, you use the popcorn to inoculate the bulk substrate. If you mixed the grain/sub first, you would need to somehow inoculate all those buried popcorn kernels with LC. Instead, you inoculate/colonize as a layer very quickly, then you spawn the bulk and it colonizes very quickly.

You don’t have to use popcorn, by the way. MANY different kinds of grain work great as spawn. You can also use crumbled BRF cakes as spawn. The whole idea of this Tek is being able to colonize the grain, then spawn the bulk, without ever exposing anything to unfiltered air.

Soliver: Many thanks, man!

Pedestrian: I’ll take that beer and offer you a shot!

[stonesofthegodz]

thanks for making me feel welcome. i can see now what your talking about. i guess wide mouth quarts would be better, easier to get the stuff out
this is great


oh one other question i guess. if your going to use wbs, and poo/verm. they need different amounts of watercontent. my friend usually does the wbs without any simmering or soaking,she just puts the water in the jar and the wbs, and after its done PCing its done. i guess she would have to find a way around this.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Sorry, FOAF is a popcorn man...can't offer any advice on preparing WBS.

Hippie3, I remember you telling Freakachino she should do this, so I hope it's cool....

archive material

If I do that often to my own threads, will I go blind?

[Raul del Angelo]

Recently, when I received my insulin in the mail,
I made a discovery. The product comes with
freezer pack to keep the product cold. One of
the freezer pack had split and I squeezed out
some. It appeared to be polyacrylamide. I
evaporated some and it made the same crystals
that we see in the nurseries. So it appears that
a cheap source of these is the freezer packs.
It takes a while to evaporate them to get to the
crystals but I think it might be much less expensive
than small bags of stuff at the nursery.

Peace, Raul

[BuckarooBanzai]

This is a Buckaroo Bulk Nugget, done in a 1/2 gallon jar with popcorn/castings/coir and poly. This is the first flush. The strain is B+.

Click a picture to enlarge...

Pins (side view):
buck jar pinning - SIDE.jpg



Pins (top view):
buck jar pinning - TOP.jpg




Finished jar full of fruit, ready to harvest:
buck jar - full.jpg




Harvest (dead batteries equal no total weight to report):
buck jar - harvest.jpg

Invitro fruited BB Nug with it's bag on:


Invitro fruited BB Nug with it's bag off:

[BuckarooBanzai]

This is a Buckaroo Bulk Nugget (B+), done in a spawn bag and then buried in casing material:

mature coir v. verm 1.jpg

[mycobri]

Truly Amazing Work!

[Pedestrian]

Can anyone see the photos in the begining of the post?

I cant for some reason but the last few posts have pics that work.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Holy crap, what happened to my pics?

[BuckarooBanzai]

The pics are back!

[Hippie3]

[hyphaenation]

Thanks Buckaroo

Your posts have informed, inspired, educated and entertained many people. I especially like the attention to detail and clear instructions. Being a newbie first-timer I had to read the Banzai Institute documents over and over.

The pictures REALLY helped me in my quest to learn. There are many great posters here at Mycotopia, I just thought i'd take the time to say hats off to Buckaroo Banzai!



I tried the BBnugget tek with a goat poo twist. I added the pasturized goat poo / straw to a clean 2 litre pop bottle. Loaded some popcorn on top that had been innoculated through a G2G transfer. Waited till the popcorn was fully colonized (as per Banzai instructions) and shook...














Voila ! !!

BBnugget tek comes through for an absolute newbie. The strain is Amazon.

I appreciate the effort you have put in Buckaroo. Your writings have helped a great many.

Peace To You

respect

H